Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates to transcutaneous devices and more particularly to an artificial blood vessel that facilitates access to a vascular system, as well as to a port for a blood vessel.
Those whose kidneys have failed may still lead relatively normal lives by undergoing hemodialysis, perhaps three or four times per week. The procedure involves inserting two catheters into accessible blood vesselsxe2x80x94one to withdraw blood and the other reintroduce the blood after it has been cleansed. But natural blood vessels cannot sustain repeated penetrations by catheters without collapsing. Typically, a patient who requires hemodialysis undergoes a surgical procedure in which an artificial blood vessel is grafted onto an artery and a vein in the patient""s arm to serve as the shunt. Being formed from a polymer, the artificial blood vessel can withstand repeated penetrations by catheters. Even so, the artificial vessel lies beneath the skin, and with dialysis two catheters must penetrate the skin before entering the artificial blood vessel. The penetrations are extremely painful and may produce infections.
The present invention resides in an artificial blood vessel including a tubular portion, at least one pocket located along the tubular portion where it encloses a chamber that communicates with the interior of the tubular portion. The blood vessel also includes a port at the pocket, with the port having a grommet that is above the pocket and a valve that normally prevents communication between an access opening in the grommet and the chamber in the pocket. The invention also resides in the artificial blood vessel implanted in an individual with its ends grafted to a natural blood vessel. In addition the invention resides in a port having a grommet designed to be located over and through the skin and a valve element beneath the skin.